Appliance for cloth-cutting machines.



H. E. GARRISON.

APPLIANCE FOR CLOTH CUTTING MACHINES.

APPLIQCATION FILED APR. 2I. I9II.

1,293,751 Patented Feb. 11, 1919.

II a II J2 J6 [D z E z [24 5 Li m n ennmson; or wmnnnneo, rumors, ASSIGNOR or ONE-HALF 'ro ANDREW J. ANDERSON, 0F ROCKFORD, ILLINOIS.

hummer. FOB cno'rn-cu'r'rme mncmnns.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, HARRY E. Gnnmson, a citizen of the United States, residing at Winnebago,'in the county of Winnebago and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Afiphances for Cloth-Cutting Machines, of W ich the following is a specification.

This invention relates in general to cloth cutting machines of the type having a maprocable cutting knife, and pertains more particularly to an appliance especially designed for protecting the standard and kmfe guard of these machines and for other purposes mentioned hereinafter.

Such cloth cutting machines are characterized by the provision of a flat base carrying a narrow upright standard which in turn carries a motor and other operating parts including a reciprocable cutting knife operated by the motor and slidable in a slotway in the standard; During the cutting operation, the fabric or material in layers of various thickness is cut vertically by the reciprocating knife, the tapered sides of the standard engaging the parted portions of the fabric and tending to slightly spread the same. And, due to the high speed of the knife and the nature of the work, it is necessary to frequently sharpen the knife so that quick and accurate cutting may be performed. It is the practice to sharpen the knife without removing it from the machine, by employing an abrasive element in the form of an emery or carborundum stick, the operator standing in front of the machine, and making forward and downward strokes on each side of the knife. During this sharpening operation, the emery stick engages the side of the standard and in a comparatively short time the standard becomes roughened and worn, thus impairing the cutting operation and in the course of usage causes the standard to become so worn that it must be replaced by a new one.

In the present instance, I have aimed, primarily, to obviate these objections ensuing from the sharpening operation, by the provision of a new and useful appliance of simple and inexpensive construction, which will preclude any destroying effect uponthe standard and will enable the knife to be sharpened at a more proper and accurate cutting angle.

To this end, I have rovided a metallic guard shaped and especlally adapted to en- Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed April 2 1, 1917. Serial No.'183,678.

Patented Feb. 11, 1919.

gage and sheath both sides of the standard throughout a substantial len h thereof, leaving the knife edge expose guard completel protects the standard against even the s ightest effect of the sharpen ng or. abrasive element, and in addition constitutes a guide for determining the proper angle of the shar ening element, I have preferably embodied this guard in the form of spring pressed jaws properly shaped so that they may be quickly positioned and so that the adjusted on a standard and removed there- 4 thereto;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged plan sectional view taken on the line 22 of Fig. 1, showing my improved appliance attached to the machine standard; and

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of an appliance embodying my improvements.

My new and useful appliance is well adapted for use with any cloth-cutting machine of the vertical knife type, that is, in which a vertically reciprocating cutting knife is employed. For purpose of illustration I have shown briefly in the drawings a conventional form of such a cloth-cutting machine, which as will be noted by reference to Fig. 1, includes a flat base 4 to which is centrally and rigidly secured a narrow upright standard 5 upon which is mounted a motor 6 adapted to reciprocate, through the agency of the pitman 7 and knife rod 8, a

cutting knife 9 which is guided at its rear I rocated at a very high s eed during eat-- ting operation. It wil be noted that the standard which of necessity must becomparatively narrow in order not to spread the parted portions of thecloth too much, 1s the sole means of sup ort for the motor and o crating parts, an therefore, rigidlty of t e standard is essential. 1 'Iecause of the frequent need for sharpenin; the knife it is found most practical to ey an emeryor oarborundum stick (such as indicated diagrammatically by. reference character 15 in Fig. 2) as the abrasive element or tool. During the sharpening operation in which the operator stands in front of the machine and moves the emery stick in downward and forward strokes along the sides of the" knife, the tool also bears against the sides ofcthe standard, this being inevitable," because the tool must engage the knife at the proper angle. effect of the tool upon the standard soon so roughens thesame as to impede the standard in its passa e between the fabric, so that the cutting mac ine cannot be operated with the ease and facility. that it should. Furthermore, durin a comparatively short tlme with regard to t e life of a machine of this character the standard will become so worn and cut away at its front and side edges as to render it an unstable means of support,

- consequently requiring the substitution of a new standard,

By means of the improvements which my invention rovides, the effects following from the i equent sharpening of the cutting blade as mentioned are entirely avoided, and in addition, several distinct advantages are gained. My improvement consists in providing a guard or protective sheath adapted to be detachably secured to the.

standard so as to fully cover the sides of the same while exposing the blade for sharpening. Thus the cutting knife may be sharpened and there will be no destructive wear upon the standard as the same is wholly protected by the guard or sheath.

This guard in addition to servingas a promoved t rough the lays with increasing case 1 and facility and with greater accuracy and less effort on the part of the operator.

In furtherance of the foregoing, I have provided in the present instance an applisides of the standard, as shown Fig. 2, leaving the forward portion 0 the The wearing imam acter'16 conslsting of a pair of pivoted jaws 17 shaped to fittlngly engage the1 ta ered knife 9 exposed. The jaws may be formed of any sultable thin material, although it .is preferred to form them of case har ened steel so as to add to their longevity. As

- shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the jaws are shaped line gether into holding engagement with the standard. Thus, means is provided for detachably securing the guard to the standard,

and it will be obvious that the guard may be quickly and easily positioned and adjusted upon the standard and removed therefrom at will. Also, when the guard is not in use it maybe clamped onto the emery stick so as not to become misplaced or lost. i

It will be noted viewing Fig. 2, that the sharpening tool bears against one of the aws which serves as a guide to determine the proper angle of the tool relatively tothe cutting knife. The rear'ends of the aws are extended so as to form, as it were, wing portions 21 1n the general plane of the jaws, to further aid in guiding the sharpening tool.

By theuse of this appliance, it will be manifest that the standard of a cloth-cuttintg machine will be preserved and protected an the operationof the machine will be u improved as mentioned above and that a guide is provided for enabling manipulation of the sharpening tool to obtain an even, accurate and proper cutting edge.

I claim; v

Means for facilitating the sharpening of the knife of a cloth cuttin machine without dismounting said kni e, comprising a standard bearing means for supporting the knife while being sharpened, said standard being formed to interfit with said knife to laterally brace the knife in the sharpening operation, means independent of the kmfe-supporting and bracing means adapted to overlie the side face of the standard to provide a coverin shield therefor while exposing the edge 0 the knife for sharpening, and means for removably securing the shielding means in place during said sharpening, said last mentioned means being separable from the standard and the knife without releasing the latter from operative rela- 

